The estate and generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax will reappear in 2011. For some insureds and the trustees of their irrevocable life insurance trusts (ILITs), the reinstatement of the estate and GST tax laws in 2011 should have little impact...

This year may offer a rare opportunity to transfer wealth efficiently by making taxable gifts, particularly to grandchildren. We've previously shown that taxable gifts almost always are more efficient for transferring wealth than bequests.1 But...

As advisors and their clients are waking up to potential tax rate increases in 2011 or 2012, they're reconsidering a number of tax deferral strategies. One strategy being reconsidered is the use of charitable remainder trusts (CRTs). For those...

The vagaries and draconian nature of Internal Revenue Code Section 2701 have understandably led to widespread deference to the vertical slice rule. However, it is essential to bear in mind that the vertical slice isn't actually a rule, but rather...

Every country1 in the European Union (EU) has its own laws and traditions for inheritances. This presents a problem when someone dies with assets in more than one country, as the conflict of law rules (known as private international law) result in...

It's not news that individual retirement account owners must withdraw required minimum distributions (RMDs) from their IRAs after reaching age 70, or that beneficiaries must make similar withdrawals. But it was news when, in 2009, Congress granted...

Planning for an existing foreign non-grantor trust that has one or more U.S. beneficiaries presents complex challenges for trustees and professional advisors. Merely understanding the relevant U.S. tax and reporting rules is daunting enough. But...

The death of the offshore asset protection trust has, by some, been greatly exaggerated.1 In recent years, attacks on a few such trusts under extreme circumstances have resulted in the incarceration of the debtor-settlor (settlor). But these...